The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued a joint document defining measures to assure the health safety of air travellers and aviation personnel once airlines resume regular flight schedules following the severe disruption caused by COVID-19.
An Addendum to the Protocol, published in response to the worsening epidemiological situation in China, defines measures that can be taken in response to a localised worsening of the epidemiological situation, so as to reduce the risk of geographical spread of a potential new variant as well as the likelihood of transmission during air travel.
The guidelines place paramount importance on health safety at every stage of the end-to-end passenger journey. Recognising that airports, airlines and aircraft are different, it takes a pragmatic approach in implementation – highlighting and giving guidance on the ways in which individual locations and situations can best be re-engineered to meet the new health safety standards.
